TOPIC EXPLORATION PACK GCSE Theme: Elections REFORM September 2015 GCSE (9–1) Citizenship Studies Oxford Cambridge and RSA We will inform centres about any changes to the specification. We will also publish changes on our website. The latest version of our specification will always be the one on our website (www.ocr.org.uk) and this may differ from printed versions. Copyright © 2015 OCR. All rights reserved. Copyright OCR retains the copyright on all its publications, including the specifications. However, registered centres for OCR are permitted to copy material from this specification booklet for their own internal use. Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations is a Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England. Registered company number 3484466. Registered office: 1 Hills Road Cambridge CB1 2EU OCR is an exempt charity. 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Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Activity 1 ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Activity 2 ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Activity 3 ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Activity 4 ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Suggested Answers ...................................................................................................................... 12 This activity offers an opportunity for English skills development. Version 1 3 Introduction This document is written for students to understand and the information (if not the activities) can be adapted to be given directly to them as guide sheets for the activities. All worksheets can be found in the separate document, and suggested answers are provided at the end of this one. Key words Term Definition The act or process of electing someone to fill an Election office or position A formal expression of preference for a candidate Voting for office or for a proposed resolution of an issue The body of voters or the residents of a district Constituencies represented by an elected legislator or official the principle by which delegates act for a Representation constituency Suffrage The right or privilege of voting A privilege or right granted by law, especially the Franchise right to vote in the election of public officials An election involving all or most constituencies of General Election a state or nation in the choice of candidates A special election held between general elections By-Election to fill a vacancy, as for a parliamentary seat Representation of all parties in a legislature in Proportional Representation proportion to their popular vote Rule by simple numerical majority in an organized Majoritarian Systems group Member of Parliament An elected member of the British Parliament Credit – The Free Dictionary (http://www.thefreedictionary.com) Version 1 4 What are elections? Elections can be defined as: “a formal and organised choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position.” Within the UK we hold regular free and fair elections. In the UK elections are used to ‘elect’ a person into political office of some nature, whether this is for Members of Parliament (MPs), local councillors, Members of European Parliament (MEPs) etc… There are a number of different election systems in operation within the UK (and beyond!). For elections to the parliament at Westminster, the “First Past the Post” system is used (FPTP). Under the FPTP system, all registered voters get one vote to choose the candidate they would like to run their local area (constituency). There are 650 (as of March 2015) constituencies in the United Kingdom varying in size, with some as small as 21,000 (Na h-Eileanan an Iar in Scotland) and some as large as 110,000 (Isle of Wight). A general election occurs at least once every five years, though by-elections will sometimes occur outside of a general election, usually if an MP dies or resigns. Voting is simple in this system, with a cross being put in the box next to the candidate you would like in charge. Whoever gets the most votes, wins, even if that is just one more vote than the next person. At the end of the general election, the party with the most number of MPs becomes the new government, with the leader of the party becoming the new Prime Minister. In order to become an MP, you must first be selected by a political party to run for that ‘seat’. More on this can be found by watching the video at the following link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics- 20222003. Activity 1 – Becoming a Prospective Candidate Whilst watching the video, try to flow chart the steps it takes to become a prospective candidate. You can use the chart and activity sheet (Resource 1 – Becoming a Prospective Candidate) to help you complete the chart. Version 1 5 The Evolving Franchise Not everyone has had the chance to vote throughout history and people have fought long and hard to campaign for the right to decide who will represent them in parliament. • The Franchise before 1832 – approximately 5% of adults could vote • The 1832 Reform Act approximately 7% of adults could vote • The Reform Act of 1867 – approximately 16% of adults could vote • Representation of the People Act 1884 – approximately 28.5% of adults could vote • Representation of the People Act - 1918 – approximately 74% of adults could vote • Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act – 1928 – approximately 97% of adults could vote • Representation of the People Act 1969 – 100% of over 18s (barring disqualification) could now vote. You can see from the above the fight for the right to vote lasted for a very long time and it took until 1928 for equality in voting rights between men and women to happen - the chart below highlights this further. Changing voter % Voter % Year Voting Systems There are a number of different types of voting systems used throughout the world. These can be broadly categorised into three groups which are shown below, together with named examples of each: Version 1 6 Majoritarian Systems – tend to be more simple but are often disproportional in terms of votes to seats. • Alternative Vote • First Past The Post • Limited Vote • Supplementary Vote Proportional Representation – highly representative of votes. • Party List PR • Single Transferable Vote Mixed Systems – a combination of majority and proportional systems. • Additional Member System • Alternative Vote Plus Each system has its own methods and own advantages and disadvantages and although in this guide we will only look at four, more can be studied should you wish. The four systems we will look at are those found predominantly in use within the United Kingdom and these are: • First Past the Post • Party List System • Single Transferable Vote • Additional Member System. First Past the Post (FPTP) The First Past the Post system is used in the UK to elect members of parliament during general and by-elections. It uses a simple “1 person 1 vote” system and voters are required to put a cross next to the name of the candidate they would like to represent their constituency. Party List System These are used to elect Members of European Parliament using the regional list variation of the system. The UK is divided in 11 multi-member constituencies with each voter voting for the party that they prefer. As it is a proportional system, the number of MEPs elected is roughly in proportion with the amount of votes that they receive. Britain uses a Closed List System meaning that the party chooses the MEPs, not the electorate. They will rank their candidates numerically, with 1 being the first person to be given a seat. So, for example, if a party wins 20 seats, the first 20 people on the list will be elected, with 21 onwards failing to gain election. Version 1 7 Additional Member System (AMS) The AMS system is a mixed system and used to elect members of the Welsh Assembly. It operates partly using FPTP and partly on the list system. Voters have two votes in this system, one (under FPTP) to elect a representative in their constituency, and one (under the list system) to a political party of their choice which are allocated under the party list system describe above. Single Transferrable Vote (STV) This is the system used in Northern Ireland. Under this, each constituency has multiple seats with voters asked to rank each candidate in preference order and can select as many or as few as they like. In order to be elected, a quota must be reached. This quota varies depending on size of constituency and number of representatives being elected. Once your preferred candidate has no chance of being elected or has enough votes to have been elected, the next preferences are then re-allocated and this continues until all the seats are filled. 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